Letters

In Wrestling, There Is Hope
Thank you, Jim Sherman, for a loving look back on the good old days of pro wrestling. ["Roots Rasslin'," May 23]. As a kid, my family moved to Houston back in '71. Within days of arriving, I discovered Paul Boesch's Houston wrestling show. From then on, Saturday nights and Sunday mornings were reserved for watching wrestling. My close friends and I followed all of the victories and defeats of our heroes and anti-heroes: Mr. Fuji, Tiger Conway, Ivan Putski, Johnny Valentine, Thunderbolt Patterson, Mille Mascaras and the truly great and beloved Jose Lothario. We were never watching white wrestlers, black wrestlers or Mexican wrestlers; we only saw good versus evil.

And though Tugboat Taylor points out that the bad guys always lose, he failed to mention that they were occasionally redeemed by the love of the fans. I'll never forget seeing The Spoiler, all six feet, seven inches and 300 evil pounds, turned from the dark side one fateful evening by the determined cheers of the fans who knew that, deep down under his sinister face mask, he was really a "good guy" after all. He rewarded our faith in his humanity by turning on and beating the living daylights out of his treacherous tag-team partner AND his sneaky manager, Bronco Luvitch. For days afterward, my friends and I all felt that we had played a part in saving him from himself.

Maybe if we had more up-front, results-oriented guys like these in Washington, D.C., there would be hope for us yet.

Gil Boyd
Houston

Surprise, Surprise
Imagine my surprise when I saw a picture of me from my days on City Council used in connection with a topic that had nothing to do with me, the associated headline or the emphasis of the article ["Roots of the Sting," by Brian Wallstin, May 23].

While I might debate the accuracy of your comments, I believe it is more appropriate to reaffirm the responsibilities of a duly elected official to represent his or her constituents. My beliefs regarding affirmative action have always been to the point and direct: I support all fair and legal efforts that ensure the full participation of women and minorities in business in conjunction with those opportunities given to the larger community. It is well documented that such efforts have created revenue and jobs for well-qualified citizens who otherwise would not have had a chance.

Therefore, my work as a representative will always include opening the door of opportunities for hard-working minority and women entrepreneurs, among others. Thank you for your interest and for allowing me to once again make the point that creating opportunities for women and minority business enterprises is not only a question of fairness, but an economic development issue as well.

U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee
Washington, D.C.

Not Surprised
I am impressed with Brian Wallstin's bravery. He has exposed the corruption at the roots of doing business with Houston and mentioned the name that everyone is afraid to mention -- Sheila Jackson Lee. Obviously, Ms. Lee is a career politician and blatant opportunist who interferes with city contracts (something I thought was illegal) to benefit her friends. Isn't this the very thing that as black Americans we have tried to fight?

Unfortunately, this is only one example uncovered. I would imagine there are more.

JaLinda H. Cobb
Houston